Assessing the Financial and Environmental Sustainability in Raw Rubber Processing; a Case Study with Ribbed Smoked Sheet Manufacture in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sri Lanka has been renowned for its top quality natural rubber products. Among the locally manufactured raw rubber types, ribbed smoked sheets (RSS) hold a significant position as it entails ca. 50% of total natural rubber production in island. With no sufficient information on effectiveness in the use of materials and finance and then environmental impacts of RSS manufacture, this study aimed at assessing RSS manufacturing process adopting Material flow analysis, Material flow cost accounting and environmental Life cycle assessment in three factories in view of providing effective suggestions for making the system to be more cost efficient and environmentally friendly. Results indicated that manufacture cost, financial loss and GHG emissions generated by processing 1 MT of RSS were LKR 104,004 ± 6,336, LKR 1,007 ± 44 and 38.0 ± 2.1 kg CO2e, respectively (mean ± standard error). As an improvement option, installing single-day smoke dryers was proposed. This option could reduce firewood consumption per 1 MT of RSS by ca. 30% resulting in 0.1% and 14% of reductions in manufacture cost and GHG emissions, respectively. Implications of these findings are also discussed.

Social Sustainability of Raw Rubber Production: A Supply Chain Analysis under Sri Lankan Scenario

“…Centrifuged latex is often used in products that follow the dipping process, such as surgical gloves and condoms [1,10]. Ribbed smoked sheets rubber is a rubber sheeting manufactured with low-cost machinery at the lowest cost, but this gives high quality if processed properly [11,12]. This rubber is commonly used in tires, rubber bands, and mechanical items [11,13].…”

“…Ribbed smoked sheets rubber is a rubber sheeting manufactured with low-cost machinery at the lowest cost, but this gives high quality if processed properly [11,12]. This rubber is commonly used in tires, rubber bands, and mechanical items [11,13].…”

“…These chemicals can harm people and wildlife [19,20]. Further, it generates large amounts of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, due to the heavy use of electricity and firewood [1,5,11,21,22]. In addition, the social impact of the natural rubber industry is also significant.…”

“…Several studies have tried to address the above economic and environmental issues [4,10,23]. Earlier, we endeavored to enhance the environmental and economic sustainability of the production of crepe rubber [5,24], concentrated latex [1], and RSS [11]. However, literature focusing on the social impacts or issues of raw rubber production has been limited.…”

“…As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, such an attempt is crucial in establishing the overall social sustainability of the natural rubber industry. To address this gap, we conduct SLCA focusing on three main raw rubber supply chains in Sri Lanka (crepe rubber, concentrated latex, and RSS), a country that ranks as the 13th largest rubber producer in the world and renowned as the largest exporter of best high-quality crepe rubber to the global market [14,28,29]. Crepe rubber, concentrated latex, and RSS comprise a share of ca.…”